On This Day in Herstory, August 30th 1797, English novelist, and dramatist, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in Somers Town, London. Shelley is best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein (1818), this novel was the first of its kind, and helped to create a new genre of literature, Science Fiction.
The daughter of political philosopher William Godwin, and philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley was raised by Godwin alone, as Wollstonecraft died less than a month after giving birth. Her father raised her with his radical political ideas, and her mother’s feminist texts. She went on to marry a political poet, and was friends with many well known writers, these influences pushed her to pursue a career in writing.
Her most famous work came about as a result of a game. One summer in Geneva, her friend Lord Byron challenged her to wrote a ghost story, and thus Frankensteinwas born. The book was widely popular, but Shelley was not recognized for her work; many people thought her husband had written the book. Shelley had to publish the first edition of her book anonymously, her name was then added in the second printing.
Shelley’s work brought her much success, and she continued her career as a writer. She paved the way for women in literature, and proved that women were as capable as men, a revolutionary idea at the time.
Shelley died on February 1st 1851, at the age of 53. She was buried with the cremated remains of her husband’s heart, that she had carried with her for nearly 30 years.
